Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Author:Tracy Chevalier [Chevalier, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2012-03-19T09:19:29+00:00

THE SUMMER COLONEL BIRCH arrived in Lyme, Mary was in a peculiar state, pulled this way and that. On the one hand, the creature she and Joseph had discovered had become quite famous. Charles Konig bought the original specimen from Bullock’s and put it on display at the British Museum. He named it ichthyosaurus, which means “fish lizard,” for its anatomy fell somewhere between the two. He and others studied it and published articles in which they speculated that the ichthyosaurus was a marine reptile, for it breathed in air like a mammal but swam like a fish. I read these papers, lent to me by William Buckland, with great curiosity, noting that none of them discussed the thorny questions of extinction or God’s hand in the creature’s disappearance. Indeed, they did not bring up religious issues at all. Perhaps they were copying Cuvier, who never mentioned God’s intentions in his writings. It was a relief to me to accept the ichthyosaurus as what it was—an ancient marine reptile with its own name.

Mary found it harder and often still called it a crocodile, as did most of the local residents, though eventually she settled on ichie. To her the new scientific name took her creature away from her even more effectively than its physical removal. Learned men were discussing it at meetings and writing about it, and Mary was excluded from their activity. She was relied upon to find the specimens but not to take part in studying them. And even that hunting was proving difficult—she had not found a complete ichthyosaurus in over a year, though she combed Church Cliffs and Black Ven every day.

One day I suggested we look for brittle stars and crinoids on the beach towards Seatown, several miles east of Charmouth. We did not usually go so far afield, but I thought a change of scene would do Mary good and suggested Seatown to get her away from her endless tramping up and down the same beach in search of an elusive monster. We chose a sunny day when the tides favored an early start. She left behind Church Cliffs and Black Ven willingly enough, but at Gabriel’s Ledge, just beyond Charmouth, she kept turning and looking behind us, as if the cliffs were calling her back. “There was a flash back there,” she insisted. “Didn’t you see it?”

I shook my head and continued along the beach, hoping she would follow.

“There it is again,” Mary said. “Oh, look, Miss Philpot, do you think he’s coming for us?”

A man was striding up the beach. Although there were other people out, taking advantage of the mild weather and the glorious morning light, he cut through them as if he knew exactly what his goal was, and it was us. He was tall and erect, and wore the high boots and long red coat of a soldier. The uniform’s brass buttons winked in the sun. I am not often moved by the sight of a man, but having this one make it his clear purpose to reach us was a thrill I will long remember.

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